Continuing trend: Parents helping adult children get their feet on the ground

Observation:  Yesterday’s USA Today featured an interesting story about the wide variety of ways that parents are providing help to their adult children; the assistance ranges from free rent to help with buying homes and cars.  Click here to see the story.

Implications:   If you’re in the business of selling any big-ticket item, it might be smart to keep your radar up on this issue.  If your customer is getting financing from The Bank of Mom and Dad, they might also be receiving opinions from those parents that could influence a purchase decision.

If you’re in the business of financial planning, perhaps you should be asking your clients about the extent to which helping their offspring could be impacting their ability to plan for retirement.  It’s a delicate question, but one that needs to be considered as extended families reconcile the way they collectively move through an altered economy.

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.